Retail clinics carry benefits, drawbacks

3:59 AM,
Jul. 9, 2013

Written by

Kevin Pho

Recently, I had a full schedule and was unable to see a patient for her cough. She instead sought medical care at a local drugstore, where she was treated for bronchitis. Normally housed in pharmacies and stores such as Target or Wal-mart, such retail clinics have grown in popularity. While convenient for minor ailments, some of these clinics want to do more.

Walgreens recently announced that its clinics would manage chronic conditions normally handled by primary care physicians like myself, such as diabetes or asthma. Though retail clinics already monitor chronic diseases, they do so ...